Pfizer and the Arab International Women Forum (AIWF) launched the ‘DEI by Design’ report containing insights and recommendations about how women’s leadership can impact the health outcomes of the Middle East and North Africa. The information resulted from a collaborative virtual panel series with top medical practitioners and health science professionals from the region that discussed mentorship, hospital strategies, and diversity in clinical trials, among other topics.
The COVID-19 pandemic underscored women’s vital role in healthcare leadership while exacerbating gender inequities. Despite challenges, it highlighted opportunities to address the gender gap, especially as 90% of frontline health workers are women.
The report provides recommendations to improve women’s health. Among many solutions, the report highlights the importance of addressing acute health and mental health challenges for women in conflict-ridden countries and including their voices in decision-making processes to humanise medical provisions for refugees, investing in a robust homegrown research culture in the region, advocating for enhanced collaboration between health authorities, hospitals, and universities to establish organised frameworks for clinical trials in the MENA region.
